Antonio Ciongoli's Eidos Brings Italian Luxury to American Streets

"People talk about how it’s hard to mix Italian and American, but I think it’s easy," says Anotonio Ciongoli, the 31-year old creative director of Eidos. Sitting back in his chair in Eidos’s midtown showroom, surrounded by phalans of suits, Ciongoli--bearded, irrepressibly jovial--is the young pontifice presiding over the marriage of an unlikely, but winning, couple: Neapolitan tailoring and American sportswear. And it’s all Ciongoli, who grew up an L.L. Bean devotee in Vermont, went to UCLA for communications, and designed skateboard shoes. But, "I wanted to do this," he says. A decade ago, he cold-called fashion brands until finally landing a gig designing accessories and childrens’ clothes at preppy flag-bearer Vineyard Vines. Then it was stints at Ralph Lauren and three years at Michael Bastian. Along the way, he became a nerd for tailored clothing and in 2013 approached Naples-based suiting giant Isaia with his concept for Eidos. "There’s a million companies doing American heritage, and I feel like that inspiration is old and tired. How do you make those things feel more Italian and elegant. We want to walk that line between rugged and elegant." To wit, Eidos’ fall 2015 campaign features Gio Ianucci, a pro skateboarder with legendary panache. It says a great deal about what Ciongoli is bringing to suiting, and why we want to live, work and play in Eidos: "Casual clothing is something you can beat up and wear to death. It gets better the more you wear it," he says. "It’s not so precious."

What’s the state of the suit in 2015?

In suiting, the thing you can talk about is how Thom Browne made the suit relevant again by shortening it and slimming it up. There’s still a market for that, but there’s definitely a market for someone who’s looking for something a little more classic, too.

What do you mean by "more classic?"

I look at Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca a lot when I’m working on our collection. I’m drawn to suiting at the end of World War II Naples, which was full and wide and had a slightly extended shoulder. It is sort of the opposite of what everybody’s been telling you [now]. The Neapolitan suit is known for softness and comfort. But what I like to do is take that softness and comfortable silhouette and do it in fabrics that pay a little bit of a nod to an English expression. The Eidos suit I’m wearing right now, it’s really soft; you could crumple it up into a ball and throw it into a corner. But it’s in a very English cloth, this heavy twill--something you would see very easily made up on Saville Row--but never in this silhouette. In my mind that’s the kind of classic I’m thinking about. This suit doesn’t have a shelf life.

** What are some modern elements you’re building into your suits?**

I don’t think about it as much as what makes it a little bit younger. Our

tailoring can be broken up in a really nice way. We try to offer fabrics that are not flat and boring. We really focus on interesting fabrics that allow you to pair a suit differently. You can break it up and wear the jacket with a pair of jeans. I love wearing polo shirts with suits.

What are some of those more textural fabrics?

We use a lot of silk in our collection, but not shiny silk. There’s a fabric we designed ourselves--with a mill in Biella, Italy--to be a really open-weave silk. What’s nice about it is it that it’s unprocessed, so the yarn is thicker in some places and thinner in other places, so every jacket is different. And you’ve got slight variance in coloration, so it just has a depth of character and texture.

What was your path to designing tailored suits?

I guess the best place to start is my father, who was the son of an Italian tailor. He went to an Ivy League school in the early sixties, in its prep and traditional heyday. He was a doctor in Vermont and he wore wide wale corduroy, bow ties every day, but he wore Borelli shirts, and Zegna suits. He always mid together this southern Italian tailoring and American sportswear. And he cared a lot about it. He always said, "Dressing up is not about you. It’s about showing respect for other people".

Do you remember your first suit?

I do. My first suit was a navy Pierre Cardin three-piece suit, when I was 7 or 8. I thought the vest was so cooI! I always used to try and wear it with other stuff. My mother would never let me because she’d say I was going to ruin it. I actually never wore the vest. I grew out of it.

Is there a design feature, or style that you simply cannot abide?

I always think about formalwear. I hate a notched lapel tudo. Because when you know the history: notched lapel tudos were created to save fabric; it was done to save money. Why would you ever want to look like that? I’m very rigid in my mind when it comes to those rules and formal wear. A point collar shirt is another. My father told me there’s no room in gentleman’s wardrobe for a point collar shirt.

Who wore a suit best?

I think Gianni Agnelli [the legendary Fia chairman]. Undoubtedly. Whether he did or not, he didn’t seem like he cared about it all that much. I like the fact that he mid it up, right? Like, he wore suits and polo shirts. He wore suits and popovers. He wore suits with hiking boots--that was out of necessity because he’d injured his leg in the war, so he couldn’t wear normal dress shoes. It’s nice not to take tailored clothing so seriously. A lot of people say you shouldn’t wear button-down collars with a suit, but who cares?